Millennials

Q and A with Ruby Modine

Artist, singer and philanthropist, Ruby Wylder Modine, has been busy. The daughter of notable actor Matthew Modine (Vision Quest, Full Metal Jacket, Gross Anatomy, Pacific Heights) is so ready to make her move in the biz. Ruby is no stranger to Hollywood. She has done voice overs, modeling, film and music. Her latest single “Trigger Finger” was inspired by her poem “A City Set Aflame”. The song showcases her talent as a singer/songwriter.

I had the opportunity to interview this fast rising talent last week and discovered the sources of her singing and songwriting inspiration.

Popbuff: First of all, how did you get into singing? Both your parents are actors.Ruby Modine: I’ve always sang and been in love with it for as long as I can remember. For years I was shy to sing for anyone except my family or close friends, though. My parents have a cassette of me belting out notes and a few tunes when I was about six or seven, not sure (laughs), It’s hysterical to listen to. I got into singing when I began school at Rudolf Steiner, the main focus of a Waldorf school is art therefore I was always painting, singing, acting or dancing. My whole artistic story begins there.

Popbuff: How did you pick your cover versions like, “As Tears Go By” by Rolling Stones and “Plastic Jesus” (one of my fave videos) popularized by Paul Newman?Ruby Modine: Paul Newmanbroke my heart when he sang Plastic Jesus, I cried the first time I saw that scene in Cool Hand Luke because it touched me in so many ways. I related to the tone of the scene and how he portrayed the song: The sincerity in his eyes and voice. My grandmother Deloris, my father’s mother, had passed away before I recorded it and my father loved that song so much too, so a piece of me wanted to do that for him and his mother. “Plastic Jesus” was actually my first project I did musically on camera so I always talk about how I would love to record that again at this age. I’m a stronger singer now and have experienced much more up to this point so that I understand the projects I did when younger on a better level…We’ll see though.

“As Tears Go By” is just a great song; I was incredibly heartbroken at that point in time, to be very honest. I was in a dark place which is why I chose that verse of the song. The version that came out is much more haunting. It’s a wonderful thing living with someone who sees you’re going through something and says, “You’ve gotta use this! Cmon” and pushes you to do the best thing when in a rut: Create Something Beautiful. I got into the studio, recorded with Andrew Hollander and pretty much in that same week shot the music video and continued on from that. The momentum was set and it was either I stop or keep going. Such a great time filming at “The Cutting Room”too! I was honored to be able to sing on the stage that so many great artists have!

Popbuff: How is your dad involved with your videos and how is it working with him? I noticed he directed “Plastic Jesus” and “Trigger Finger”.Ruby Modine: For my next video, “BANGBANGBANG!”, I will be working with another director (named currently being withheld) which I’m really excited about, however, in the past my father directed this because I really love working with him. He’s a great artist and inspiration to me. I’m glad that he’s directed my videos because the vision he sees in his mind comes out through the camera and then we get what you have seen!

Popbuff: So where are you based? NY or LA? Where do you prefer to live?Ruby Modine: I’m so bicoastal (laughs) I’m never really based anywhere! I’m a New Yorker and as of now am living in Venice, CA. I’m so happy to say that work is staying consistent out here with my acting so I don’t have any plans on moving, at least not for a while. I totally love elements of each state, I don’t like one better than the other. In LA I have the beach but in NYC I have thunderstorms! I like to drive but love to walk (laughs). I love different things about each and don’t hate anything about either… Except the water bugs in NYC, oh my God I don’t miss those!

Popbuff: You’ve done film, television, music videos…is there anything else you’d like to do?Ruby Modine: Well… I mean I want to do everything under the sun (laughs) but to be specific? I’ve sold a few photos in charity auctions and have had my paintings on display in a few art galleries. I’d really love to be able to continue showing both portfolios, art and photography to the public and doing what I can with my art for charity.

Popbuff: Of all the videos and songs you have done, what is your most memorable or favorite so far?Ruby Modine: I have awesome memories from each project I’ve been involved in. There’s something wild that stuck with me from each experience but so far my favorite video shoot would have to be “Trigger Finger”. I was so happy that my good friend Miles Heizerwas able to be involved and it was such a funny shoot to be on. Same with my recordings, different reasons for each studio session but my soon to be released song “BANGBANGBANG!” would have to be my favorite so far. I got to work with Kenny Aronoff,Patrick Burkholder, Andy Patch and Chip Rau. Awesome rockers who I cannot wait to work with again!

Popbuff: Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?Ruby Modine: It was a huge dream of mine to be able to sing alongside Amy Winehouse, her death was really shattering for me.

Popbuff: Who or what influences your music?Ruby Modine: My music is inspired by things that touch or move me, something that sparks inside me and I look into it on a deeper level that makes me want to show how I see that specific thing. It’s not about who it’s about everything. All the elements in my life inspire my music.

Popbuff: How would you describe your music genre?Ruby Modine: I don’t really have an answer for this. A lot of the music I’ve recorded was requested of me. I was asked to do “Plastic Jesus” and “As Tears Go By” and Chris Udell asked me to record the demos for “Tell Me a Story” and “Radio”. “Trigger Finger” is the closest to my sound and my new release “BANGBANGBANG!” is wild. I’ve found that the further I go down the road in my career, the more control I have over my sound therefore the next few songs I have coming out: “Endeavor After”, “Texas in July” and “An Exert from November” will show more of what my genre officially is. The music that is coming is more of a rock sound I believe… I don’t know, it’s so hard because I jump from so many different sounds for different occasions and love them all!

Popbuff: Will you be touring this summer? Any plans of performing in Southern California?Ruby Modine: No plans for tour as of now and I love to perform whenever I can. Right now I’m in the middle of a lot of acting gigs so am staying focused on that and just recording music as much as possible. I’ll be releasing a lot of music but as for performing live, I’ll do that whenever I can and let you know where and when (laughs)!

Popbuff: What do you do during your downtime?Ruby Modine: I always like to try new things so am getting into surfing. My ankle is finally healing from a skateboard accident I had in 2008 so am getting back into that groove with the help of my wonderful friend Daniel Knapp! So stoked on that! I paint, draw, take photos, read, watch movies and hang out with my friends. The most fun night, recently, was bowling for like three hours and then grabbing burritos and hanging on a lifeguard stand down by the Santa Monica Pier during the full moon. (laughs)

Popbuff: How do you see yourself 10 years from now? You’ll be 33?Ruby Modine: I have no idea (laughs) hopefully farther along on the path with my acting and singing career. I just want happiness and know that I’ve worked as hard as I could to accomplish what I want. I always make sure I’m working hard towards my goals.

Popbuff: Last but not the least, who is your favorite artist?Ruby Modine: Too many to tell you! (laughs) If I named one, the list will go on for decades.

Up Close and Personal with Jessie Bridges

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Jessie Bridges. She is a talented young singer and the daughter of famous actor, Jeff Bridges. The first time I saw her was when she opened for The Abiders concert at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano. She had exceptional stage presence, had real heart and soul in her songs. She captivated the audience with the songs she wrote herself and performed. At the end of her performance, Jessie mentioned that she is very friendly and loves to hug. In fact, she offered to talk to the audience after the show, hug included. When I talked to her, I felt like I was just talking to one of my girlfriends. She was indeed very friendly and modest.

After chatting with Jessie, I asked her if she wanted to be featured in my blog and right then and there she said, “I love interviews.” So we started communicating through Facebook and I set an interview time with her. Interviewing Jessie Bridges was one of the most fun interviews I have had.

Jessie, the middle one of the siblings, graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles with a degree in Communications Studies in 2006. Her older sister is a yoga teacher and the youngest one is an Interior Designer. She moved to San Francisco after college and over the years she decided to head east to Oakland. She’s been there ever since.

I started with the question about her childhood.

POPBUFF: You grew up with Hollywood royalty, Beau Bridges, Lloyd Bridges and Jeff Bridges. How would you describe your childhood?JESSIE: My childhood was actually fairly normal. I don’t think that I realized that my family was any different than anyone else’s. I didn’t know anything other than what I was born into. I guess the way it was different is everything was a little bit more dramatic like during family get-togethers and holidays and stuff. We would always put on shows and plays and there be lots of singing and dancing and stuff like that.

POPBUFF: How and when did you learn playing the guitar?JESSIE: I learned to play the guitar when I was around 13 or 14. My dad actually taught me. He got me my first
guitar. And I grew up listening to all of the music that my parents listen to back in the ’60s and ’70s. So I would say kinda old school rock and roll is a heavy influence of mine. And I began to improve my skill…my dad and I would jam together, we’d sing, hang out and it’s really fun.

POPBUFF: So how would you describe your genre?JESSIE: That’s a tough question for me because when I’m doing my kinda solo stuff or if I’m being accompanied by somebody on guitar it tends to come across more as like folky kinda singer-songwriter-ish and then for my album it’s more like Americana and Indie Rock.

POPBUFF: You were so natural on stage and your voice is amazing, is this the career path you chose?JESSIE: So funny because I graduated and moved to San Francisco not knowing what I was gonna do and I ended up working for a radio station up here and then I decided I want to go to Culinary school. So I went to Culinary school and I worked in the kitchen and then I ended up working for a chocolatier on the sales side. And then my dad actually asked me to be his assistant on some movies so I did that for a few years and then I realized that the movie thing is not the right fit for me. I started to my music more and it happened in a really organic way. It didn’t feel like
premeditated or like I forced myself into making a decision. It was actually in Vancouver… we were working on a movie and I decided to go in the studio and record a song that I have written while we were up there and that one song ended up kinda triggering the entire album. And so, like I said it was organic and not premeditated and I had no idea that this is the path I was gonna take. People have been telling me for years “Jessie, why don’t you do your music?” And I think I resisted it to be honest because coming from a famous family, there’s a lot of expectations and you know, just
assumptions attached to my last name and I didn’t really wanna fill those shoes. But now I realized there’s nothing else I’d rather do. I love it so much.

POPBUFF: What about the acting bug? Do you want to go into acting later on?JESSIE: No. You know my dad he’s never really encouraged us or discouraged us from doing it and I think that it comes pretty naturally to me. It’s just not something that I’m super passionate about. It’s never really been anything that I wanted to pursue.

POPBUFF: What is your favorite Jeff Bridges movie?JESSIE: Hmmm. It’s so weird because I can’t watch my dad’s movies like regular movies because I see him. It’s really hard for me to detach the fact that my dad is playing a character so I’ll have to say that my favorite movie that he’s done were movies I’ve worked on just because I had so many fun memories of our experiences together and so when I go back and I watch them I see a scene and I’m like “Oh my gosh that was that day I remember that.” So it’s more of that kind of experience.

POPBUFF: And what movie was that?JESSIE: Well, I started out, we did “True Grit” together and then we worked on the movie called “R.I.P.D.” and then the last movie we worked on was called “Seventh Son” which has not come out yet.

POPBUFF: So, do you regularly tour with The Abiders?JESSIE: I opened for them last summer and it was amazing. That was my first tour. I played my own shows all over the place as well. I really like opening for them. I mean I love the band. They are so incredible. It was so much fun. They are so talented. I’m really excited to play with them.

POPBUFF: Aside from The Abiders, who else is your favorite band?JESSIE: It’s always gonna be The Beatles, can’t get away from that. But lately, “who I’ve been listening to lately?”, I listen to a lot of old stuff to be honest. I’m a big Wilco fan and I love them.

POPBUFF: How do you see yourself 10 years from now?JESSIE: That is a good question. Definitely keep doing my music and be involved in philanthropy. Be part of different fund raising events where music can be a way to bring attention to different causes. So hopefully something like that. And I also have this fantasy with my culinary background of opening a cafe that is also a music venue.

POPBUFF: During your downtime what do you like to do?JESSIE: Well I have an adorable puppy. Her name is Banjo.She’s a Taiwanese Shephered dog mix, 14 months old . She definitely keeps me quite busy. I am also an outdoor enthusiast. I love hiking and backpacking and camping and all that stuff. Of course I love cooking. Being in the bay area there are so many things at my fingertips that I get to engage in. Pretty much the opportunities are endless.

POPBUFF: Any projects coming up?JESSIE: I’ve been in the studio and recorded two singles which I’m hoping to release. And I’m opening for my dad… two shows in Vegas in June. Other than that continue to go in the studio once I get more materials together and put some tunes.

POPBUFF: Any words for the fansJESSIE: I love to encourage people to do what they love and what they’re most passionate about. I feel very blessed to be able to share my music and my vulnerability with the world and I hope that I get to continue doing that and I appreciate all the support that I’ve gotten up until this point.

It was so much fun interviewing Katherine Schwarzenegger, the eldest daughter of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver at Barnes & Noble at Huntington Beach. She was sharp and friendly during the interview. We talked about her latest book, “I just Graduated, Now what?” I thought this book was only for college and high school graduates but as I was reading it, I realized it is also applicable to everyday life. Katherine mentioned in her introduction the idea of pausing. She got this idea from her mom Maria who gave a commencement speech at Katherine’s graduation from The Annenberg School at USC in May 2012. Maria offered the advice to the graduates, “Pausing allows you take the beat- to take a breath in your life.” As a mom, this advice I will surely pass on to my three boys.

Going back to the book, if you are currently working or looking for a job, this book has helpful tips to be a notch up, no matter how old you are. Through her interviews, you’ll learn how successful people like Anderson Cooper, Eva Longoria, Andy Cohen and Jared Eng found their success in their career. And because I’m a pop culture buff, my favorite interviews are of Andy Cohen, Top TV Executive of Bravo/Host of “Watch What Happens Live” and Jared Eng founder of JustJared.com.

As she arrived at Barnes and Noble in Huntington Beach, I noticed Katherine’s warm yet elegant smile. She was dressed in blue skinny jeans, a white shirt and a black sweater with two layered necklaces, Katherine exuded confidence.

I was able to ask a few fans some questions while eagerly waiting for her. Lisa from Huntington Beach said, “I’m here because I’d like to find out how she compiled her book, the people she selected and why she selected them, and just her experience writing the book.” Another fan named Pamela from Hacienda Heights mentioned that, “I’m here because I want to see her in person and I’m also intrigued by her book and get her prospective why she wanted to write the book and it’s nice to know why she wrote it because there are a lot of people who don’t know what to do after graduation and not a lot of us go to the field we graduated with.”

Special thanks to Megan P.

Popbuff: Who or what was your inspiration to write your latest book?KS: My inspiration for writing the book was graduating college and having a ridiculous ton of anxiety about not knowing what I was going to do next. I graduated from USC almost two years ago and had no idea what I was going to do. I was really nervous, anxious, and scared about what my next chapter in my life would be and I realized that my friends also felt the same way. So I kinda wanted to speak to that anxiety and I decided that when I graduated, it would be really helpful for me that I had something like this book to kinda ease my mind and ease the transition from college into the real world so I decided to do this book and interview over 31 successful people about their anxiety, their time of struggling and feeling lost and how they got to where they are today.

Popbuff: What do you like most about book signing events?KS: What I look forward to the most is meeting people and hearing their stories. With my first book I love being able to go to the book signing and having people talk to me how happy they were that I wrote this book. With this book also it’s been a very similar response of “That such a good idea, I wish I had that one when I graduated.” The idea that I would have worked on for a year and a half and people really enjoying it definitely is nice to hear.

Popbuff: What is your favorite thing to do aside from writing and reporting?KS: I would say my favorite thing is to do anything with my family. I’m a huge family person so anything that I’m able to do with them is number 1 on my list. Also, I have a lifestyle website so I’m doing that full time and that is something I do everyday which I absolutely love doing because I’m obsessed with everything under the umbrella of lifestyle.

Popbuff: Who do you admire or look up to?KS: Obviously I really look up to and admire my mom. I’m able to ask her whatever is on my mind. I really admire her career path and everything that she had done in her life and the journey that she had. I also admire and look up to and have slight obsession with Beyonce. I really admire for being who she is. I also admire her for how she chooses to live her life and conduct herself into relationship her personal life and also her public life. She’s also someone who makes incredible music that I listen to all day long.

Popbuff: Do you have a city that you’d like to establish your career someday?KS: I would think of moving to New York but I’m pretty set of living in LA and I am born and raised in LA. I love LA with all my heart so I think LA is definitely the best city for me but I will be open to spending some time in New York.

Popbuff: How do you see yourself 10 years from now?KS: I hope I am doing something that I love and that I am surrounded by my friends and family and most importantly that I am happy.

Popbuff: Do you have any plans of entering showbiz or politics?KS: No, absolutely never doing anything in politics I can definitely tell you that. I’m not one who likes to rule things out before trying them but coming from a family that was involved with politics; I can go ahead and rule that out. Whatever else comes my way I think I would deal with it then.

Popbuff: What is your advice to your generation who are starting their careers?KS: I think the biggest take away from doing this book would be that when you graduate college, you’re young, this is the time where you can make mistakes, you can enter the real world, you can dabble in different career path but also know that there is no specific way that you can take to be successful. There are so many different journeys that people take now, so different paths that people take to get where they are and I think the difference between people graduating college today that there are so many different opportunities out there so don’t think that because you’re doing something different that you’re not going to be as successful as people in this book.